16 June 2021
On Wednesdays on social media, people use the hashtag #WriterWednesday to chat about all things author, book and writing, including authors promoting their own work. As we love to support self-published authors, we thought we’d join in and we will be featuring a UK self-published author every Wednesday on the website.
This week, we met Maurice Perkins to find out more.
Please tell us about yourself; when did you first become interested in writing?
I have always had a passion for reading and telling my own stories verbally over a beer. Writing them seemed to be a good extension of that.
Do you remember the first story you ever wrote?
A series of short stories when I was in the Royal Navy to illustrate our ship’s newspaper. The first one concerned the predicament we were in at the time. Water rationing, limited to no air conditioning and we were operating in the Pacific Ocean on exercises.
What genre/genres do your books fall under?
Several. My first three are raw gritty memoirs, the fourth is a post apocalyptic survival story and my fifth, currently a work in progress, is a dark comedy thriller.
What is your latest book called, what is it about and what was the inspiration behind the book?
The book is called QUEST and is a post apocalyptic survival story with a science fiction twist. The inspiration came from questioning how I would survive if plague and world wars decimated Earth’s population. Resources would be limited and people would have to fight to hold what they had and take what they need. How would people react. I added in the complexity of how such a plague could occur and how certain nations might try to take advantage of a difficult situation. The end result is QUEST.
Besides your current book, do you have any new projects coming up?
Yes I am writing a dark comedy thriller based around a group of veteran ex-military people who inadvertently come to the attention of organised crime. How the situation escalates and becomes something everyone finds difficult to handle.
Where can people find your books?
My author page.
What has been the greatest moment in your writing career?
Discovering that people I do not know and have never met, have purchased and read my books.
Besides writing, what hobbies or interests do you enjoy in your spare time?
Helping my wife provide child care to our five youngest grandchildren two weeks out of three takes up a lot of time. We enjoy walking in the hills, by rivers and around lakes with our family, friends and dog. I also like to while away playing simple games on my iPhone or iPad. Poker, Golf Clash and Boom Beach.
Which novelists do you admire?
Lee Child is my current favourite novelist. I like his writing style.
What has been the best piece of writing advice you’ve received?
Edit, edit, edit, edit, review and edit some more.
Do you have any tips or advice for other indie authors?
Have a plan. Not just how you want to compile your story, the characters and sub-plots but also the level of research you will need. Secondly, a plan on how you will self-market. Who will you engage with and how will you do it.
You can find out more about Maurice via Amazon, Facebook, Instagram or X (Twitter).
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